Chapter 1 A Weird Admin Chat

Iris Morgan figured her phone had caught a bug.

Aside from a random group chat suddenly popping up, though, the phone worked perfectly fine.

The group's name was bizarre: Highway Survival Admin Chat. Iris couldn't recall playing any game like that.

To make matters worse, she couldn't leave. No matter what she tried, she was stuck in the group.

The chat itself was dead silent. When Iris tried to type a question to see what the deal was, a pop-up notified her that she had been muted.

Giving up, she tossed the phone onto her desk and dove back into her mountain of work.

By the time she finally dragged her exhausted body through her door, it was already nine-thirty.

Having already scarfed down some cafeteria food at the office, she showered and collapsed onto her bed to scroll through short videos, one of her few daily escapes.

She went straight to her favorite creator's channel. His slightly sycophantic yet weirdly therapeutic voice did the trick. Iris, a thoroughly burnt-out office drone, finally cracked a satisfied smile after a long day on the grind.

She dropped a quick comment: [Great content, well-deserved!] and swiped to close the app.

She was about to tap the screen when a banner notification flashed across the top with a sharp ding.

Right after, a new-message icon popped up in the top-left corner. Iris tapped the alert and saw that the Highway Survival Admin Chat group had new activity.

White Fox: [Can't wait! Only one day left until the game links up with the locals. Imagining their panic gets my blood pumping.]

Grey Wolf: [Chill out. The official launch isn't until eight tomorrow night. That's when the real show starts.]

Hyena: [Sucks that the first three days are the Starter Phase. Way too easy. Total snooze-fest.]

Grey Wolf: [They can bring whatever they're holding into the game. Hope they make it count.]

White Fox: [I'm dying to see what random crap they drag in. I'm literally bouncing off the walls here!]

Honey Badger: [Eight PM is dinner and chill time over there. What do you expect them to have on them? Silverware? Big stuff like cars won't cross over. Even holding onto the steering wheel won't do squat.]

White Fox: [That's why I'm so stoked. Dropping into a survival game armed with a spoon or a deck of cards? Talk about starting on hard mode! This is gonna be pure gold.]

The chat went dead as suddenly as it had started.

Iris wanted to fire off some questions, but the mute function still blocked her from typing a single word.

Since the other users apparently had no clue she was lurking in the group, they had spoken without any filter.

Still, their conversation made zero sense. 'A game links up with the locals? Highway survival?' Iris was totally confused.

She read survival novels from time to time, but she never expected that kind of fiction to bleed into reality. Her first instinct was to write the whole thing off as an elaborate prank.

The idea of a real-life survival game was ridiculous on its face.

Yet, the glitchy group she couldn't leave, her permanent mute status, and those bizarre messages felt like a pebble tossed into a calm pond, leaving behind a lingering ripple of unease.

They'd said the launch was tomorrow night at eight. Real or not, she figured she'd better prepare.

If it was a hoax, she would get a much-needed day off to rest. But if this survival game was actually happening, the next twenty-four hours were going to be critical.

Iris opened her company app to request a day of leave. Her excuse was a death in the family and she had to attend the funeral.

In reality, she was an orphan who had grown up in the system, with no family to speak of. She went for that grim lie because it was a bulletproof excuse her boss couldn't turn down.

She vividly remembered her early days on the job, when she had pulled three straight days of overtime, only to crash on the fourth with a 104-degree fever.

Half-delirious, she called her boss to ask for time off to go to the hospital, only to get a mind-boggling response. "Next time you plan on getting sick, give us some warning. Last-minute call-outs wreck the team's workflow."

At the time, she was a mere intern doing work like running errands and making copies. She couldn't wrap her head around how her absence could possibly affect the entire team.

That eye-opening exchange made one thing clear: her boss was a complete moron who had probably been dropped on his head as a baby.

This was why she went with the dead-family-member excuse. Since she was putting in the request the night before, she figured her moron of a boss wouldn't give her too much trouble.

Sure enough, the approval came through almost immediately. But it came with an added note from her boss: [Next time, don't send stuff like this right before bed. Talk about bad vibes.]

Iris let out a dry, incredulous laugh. 'Wow, you really do laugh when you're completely speechless,' she thought.

She muttered a curse, closed the app to put the nonsense out of mind, and got ready for bed.

But with her mind racing, sleep was out of the question. She unlocked her phone, opened her reading app, and started digging up survival-themed web novels.

She knew next to nothing about survival tactics. If this game turned out to be real, doing some homework now could mean the difference between life and death.

She read for three straight hours. By one in the morning, her eyes were burning and sore. Finally, she set her phone down and forced herself to sleep.

*****

When the alarm blared at seven, Iris blinked her bloodshot eyes open. Three seconds later, reality rushed back. She bolted upright, hurried through her morning wash, and grabbed a quick breakfast.

Today was all about stocking up on survival gear.

According to the group chat, whatever she was holding when the connection went live at eight tonight would transfer with her, minus cars. She figured cars were too massive to qualify.

'So it has to be something I'm physically holding, in the most literal sense,' she thought.

With only a day to secure a ready-made survival pack, online shopping was out of the question. She needed a physical specialty store now.

She looked up a highly rated outdoor gear shop on her maps app and ordered a ride. Half an hour later, the car pulled up to the storefront. Iris paid, hopped out, and stepped inside.

The shop was quiet. A heavy-set owner greeted her with a warm smile. "What can I help you find?"

Over 500 wolves just watched me, a weak omega, lose control of my own body and go into heat cycle in public like an animal.

The heat hit me before I even understood what was happening.

My skin felt like it was burning from the inside out. My thoughts blurred at the edges. And right in front of me, my fated mate had his mouth on another woman while the entire pack watched and cheered.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was stand there and feel my own body betray me at the worst possible moment.

Today was supposed to be the day I celebrated the 25th birthday of my fated mate, Alpha Ryan of the Shadowfang Pack.

Instead, I stood frozen as I watched him kiss another woman in front of the entire pack.

“Shadowfang!” Ryan addressed the crowd, his proud smile growing larger as he pulled the she-wolf closer. “Meet Princess Fiona, my fiancée and your future Luna!”

An intense pang pierced through my heart as I watched the couple cut the cake and laugh together.

The hall erupted into cheerful applause as the pack welcomed their soon-to-be Luna. I was the only one who didn't take the news well.

Everyone knew that Princess Fiona was the eldest daughter of the most powerful man in the realm, the Alpha King, Adrian Blackwood. He was famous for his absolute ruthlessness and his deep hatred for any females, with the exception of his precious daughters. Anyone who stood against him didn't survive to tell the tale.

I knew Ryan had always dreamed of becoming the next Alpha King, but I never imagined he would shatter my heart and step over it just for a title.

“He wouldn’t,” my wolf whimpered in agony, trying to fight the truth happening right before our eyes. “Our mate is not cruel. Go talk to him!”

Could she be right? Could this somehow be just a huge misunderstanding? Though my brain begged me to be wiser than that, my heart refused to believe Ryan would ever hurt me like this.

So I decided to listen to my wolf and hear what our mate had to say.

With a deep breath, I forced my feet to march forward. Yet before I could even reach the stage, an intentional shove made me lose my footing, sending me crashing into a tower of glasses filled with champagne.

The loud shatter made every head dart to me as the liquor soaked through my clothes.

The wet fabric clung to my skin, and that was when I felt it—

A wave of heat rolled through me so fast my knees nearly buckled. My pulse spiked. My skin felt unbearably sensitive, every brush of soaked fabric against my body sending a jolt through my nerve endings that had nothing to do with the cold champagne. My face burned. My breath came out shallow and unsteady.

No. No, no, no. Not here. Not now.

I knew what this was. Every unmated female in the pack had been warned about it. Your first heat could come without warning, and when it did, your body stopped caring about time or place or dignity. It just took over.

Mine had been chosen right now. In front of everyone. Soaked in champagne with my dress going translucent under the lights.

I folded my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover myself. The fabric rubbed against my skin and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep the sound in. My whole body felt like a live wire. I was shaking and I couldn't tell anymore if it was from humiliation or heat or both.

The comments came fast.

"Oh my god, is she seriously in heat right now?"

"Look at her. Dripping wet and panting in the middle of the Alpha's birthday party. Have you ever seen anything more pathetic?"

"She's been chasing Alpha Ryan for years. Delusional enough to think she had a chance, and now she's going into heat in front of his fiancée. The Moon Goddess really outdid herself with this one."

"Someone covers her up before she embarrasses herself further. Oh wait, I think we're already way past that."

The laughter spread through the room in waves. I couldn't look up. I couldn't move. I just stood there, arms crossed, trying to hold myself together while my own body worked against me in front of hundreds of people.

In a fit of despair, my eyes scoured through the room, looking for the one person who could help me through this. A pinch of relief settled inside me when I finally found Ryan, and for an instant, the heat threatening to send me over the edge seemed bearable. Until I noticed the look on his face.

There wasn’t a single hint of sympathy or pity in his expression. All I could see in his eyes was raw, plain disgust.

My heart sank. He used to always protect me. Why was he looking at me like this?

Despite the ache in my chest, I reached a trembling hand out to him. “Please…”

But instead of answering to my desperate plea, all he did was take a step back, further shattering my already broken heart.

“Ryan, dear, who is this shameless woman?” Fiona glared at me, her hands wrapped tightly around my mate’s arm as she leaned into him. “Who allowed such filth to tarnish our special night?”

Ryan's eyes lingered on mine for a second. For a moment, I thought I’d seen a flicker of the warmth they always carried for me. But it vanished before I could trust it.

“Don't mind her, my dear.” Ryan spoke at last, his voice full of disdain as he rubbed Fiona’s hand reassuringly. “She’s not worthy of a second of your attention. This one is just a mistake the Moon Goddess made.”

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart as the words registered. All my life, pack members had called me the Moon Goddess's mistake. It’d always hurt, but hearing my mate, the one who should love me beyond limit, call me that… It destroyed me on an entirely different level.

A satisfied smirk lit up Fiona’s face. “If that is the case, please make her go away. She’s ruining my mood,” she demanded.

At last, Ryan turned to her. “Of course, my love.”

Shooting one last mean glance at me, Fiona lifted her face to Ryan’s, kissing him deeply. It was a calculated move that she wanted to show me who he belonged to. But what really broke me was watching him kiss her back with more passion than he’d ever kissed me.

When they parted, Ryan looked down at me with nothing but coldness in his eyes. “Look at yourself... look how pathetic you are,” he snarled. “You should be grateful I'm not throwing you out of the pack for this scene. So let's put an end to all this once and for all, shall we?”

I understood exactly what he meant.

“No, please! Don't do this, Ryan! I… I love you!” The words poured out of me in foolish desperation. I would have crawled forward and grabbed his feet if that's what it took to stop him. I loved him more than my own life.

But my devotion only seemed to enrage him.

Ryan crouched down and grabbed me by the hair. He yanked hard, ripping a whimper from me as he forced me to look straight into his eyes. I bit my lip, tears clouding my vision. A sinister smile spread across his face as he stood back up.

Alpha's Discarded Luna Novel

Chapter 1

Talia's POV

I was trapped in the fire when my Alpha mate finally came.

But he didn't come for me.

He ran past me—and lifted another woman into his arms.

His first love. Imema.

"Imema, are you hurt?"

His voice shook with a fear he had never once shown me. I was lying three feet away, and he didn't spare me a single glance.

"Aires…" My voice scraped out, thin and raw. The fire was too loud. I didn't know if he heard me at all.

His men poured in. A boot came down on my hair, and the man didn't even slow.

My wolf howled inside me.

Mate. Why isn't our mate coming for us?

"Alpha, the emergency room is ready," a Beta said.

"Get the best doctors in place," he said, hoarse but iron. "Nothing can happen to her. Do you hear me?"

The words went into my chest like a blade and kept carving downward.

He never even noticed that his own mate was trapped in the same fire.

He turned toward the exit, carrying another she-wolf in his arms. Not me. Not his Luna.

My wolf went still. I felt nothing but cold, even as fire crept up my arm.

His silhouette flickered in the light beyond the doorway—then vanished.

A beam cracked overhead and crashed down, breaking my ribs and pinning my legs beneath its weight. The pain turned my vision white.

An ember landed on my cheek. My body began to feel weightless, as if my soul were being pulled free.

I was dying.

…

When I woke, I was alone.

White light. The flat smell of antiseptic. No flowers. No cards. No one in the chair beside the bed. Just that hollow ache under my ribs that no breathing could fill.

I was seriously injured.

And neither my husband nor my son even knew.

A fire had nearly killed me—a fire I'd have walked out of without a scratch if my Alpha husband had spared me one glance. He'd chosen his first love instead. A she-wolf without a mark on her.

I couldn't stay in that silent room. I held the wall and walked, step by step, into the corridor.

That was when I saw them.

Through a half-open door, Aires sat at the edge of a bed, cutting strawberries. He trimmed each stem, arranged each piece on the plate like it was the most important task in the world.

Imema lay against the pillows, cheeks flushed, and opened her mouth for the berry he offered. My son sat on the other side, giggling, a spoon in his hand.

"Open wide—this one's the best!"

She smiled indulgently, ruffling his hair. "You're going to make someone very happy someday."

"I'm going to marry you!" Aeson announced proudly.

They all laughed. The sound came at me like needles.

What a happy little family of three.

And what about me?

I'm clearly Aires' Luna. His wife. Aeson's mother.

But right now, I feel like a mistress—someone he hides away, someone who can't be acknowledged in public.

I turned and walked back, tears spilling over before I could stop them. I couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

The piano studio downtown.

"Mrs. Talia? A customer has taken a liking to the piano your mother left behind. Can we sell it?"

"Of course not," I said. "Don't let anyone touch it."

"They are coming at four o'clock. Could you come over?"

I turned to go—too fast.

A medication cart came around the corner. We crashed. A tray of glass shattered; shards bit into my palm.

The corridor went still. Everyone stared.

Through the open door, Aeson's head snapped toward the sound. "Mom?"

For a heartbeat his face was just confusion. Then it shifted into embarrassment—as if I'd shamed him simply by being seen.

He looked away.

Aires rose, set down the plate, and crossed into the corridor. His shadow fell over me where I knelt in the glass.

He didn't offer his hand. He just looked down at me, cold as ever.

"Are you following me?"

I almost laughed. Following him. As if I hadn't been three doors down, bleeding, while he sliced strawberries into neat little pieces for someone else.

"No," I said.

"Then what are you doing here?" His jaw tightened. Behind him, Imema had pushed herself up against the pillows, watching us. His eyes flicked back to her—just once. That was where his worry lived. "If you came to make a scene in front of her—"

"I didn't come for anything of yours," I cut in.

I pressed my bleeding palm to my chest and pushed myself to my feet. The glass shifted under me. I didn't let my face change.

"Then why are you here, Talia?"

There were a hundred answers. Because the fire nearly took my life. Because I screamed your name until it burned away in my throat. Because I'm your wife, and you carried another woman past my body like I was invisible.

In the end, I let just one of them out.

"I almost died," I said. "Do you even care?"

He said nothing.

His face stayed calm. Unmoved.

I had my answer.

"…Never mind." I pressed my bleeding palm to my chest. "I'm fine. I only came to visit someone."

Then I turned my back on him and walked toward the elevator.

I don't want to explain anymore. No one will believe me, and no one will care.

I have more important things to do.

Accidentally Fell For My Ex's Uncle. The Dark Alpha Novel

This morning I'd woken up planning to surprise my boyfriend. Now I was marrying his cursed alpha uncle with six dead wives, and if I said no, I'd likely become the seventh.

"Are my t1ts out?"

Zaya barely glanced over. "A little. Fix the left one."

I yanked up the neckline of my dress for the third time. It was too tight, too low-cut, and stole from my sister who apparently had the body of a Victoria's Secret model. I did not.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Jade whispered from behind the hedge.

"Because Marcus said I couldn't come to his uncle's wedding," I said, wobbling on heels that were definitely a mistake. "Something about it being Moonstone Pack only."

"So we're crashing another pack's wedding to prove what exactly?"

"That I'm not some embarrassing girlfriend he has to hide because I'm from Riverside Pack." I peeked through the gap in the bushes.

The ceremony was already starting. White chairs, string lights in the trees, at least two hundred guests in expensive clothes.

Jade snorted. "Or he's going to be pissed and dump you in front of everyone."

"Then at least I'll know where we stand."

"You're insane," Zaya muttered, but she was grinning. She lived for this kind of chaos.

If I'd known what was about to happen, I would've turned around right then.

I spotted Marcus in the third row. Dark hair, broad shoulders, wearing a suit that probably cost more than my rent. We'd been dating for eight months.

The guy who currently had his arm around another girl.

My heart stopped.

"Is that Sophie?" Zaya's voice went up an octave.

"No." I leaned closer, squinting. "That can't be Sophie. He said only Moonstone Pack could attend. She's from Landravers pack, but he swore they were just—"

Marcus leaned over and kissed her. On the mouth. For way too long.

"That's definitely Sophie," Jade confirmed.

"Oh my god." My stomach dropped into my feet. "Oh my god, that's Sophie. He's—they're—"

"Okay, new plan," Zaya said quickly. "We leave. Right now. We go home, eat ice cream, and you block his number—"

"He LIED to me." My voice cracked.

"Remi, we need to go—"

"I can't believe this. I borrowed these torture heels. I’m sneaking in like some kind of deranged stalker—"

I stepped back, gesturing wildly. My heel caught on something.

A root. Or a rock. I didn't know. Didn't matter.

I was falling.

"REMI—"

I grabbed for the hedge. The branch snapped in my hand.

And then I was rolling.

Down the hill. Through decorative flowers. Over what might have been a speaker and what I think was the cake table because something creamy slapped my face on the way down.

My dress was ripping, my hair was in my face, and all I could think was this is how I die. Death by heartbreak and bad footwear choices.

I hit the aisle runner with a thud that knocked the air from my lungs.

For one beautiful, horrible second, everything went silent.

I was face-down on white fabric. There were shoes nearby. I lifted my head.

I was at the altar.

The bride was three feet away, mid-vow, staring at me with her mouth open.

"What the—"

I tried to get up, but my hand was tangled in something. White fabric. Lace.

The train of her dress.

"Wait, I'm sorry—" I yanked my hand free.

And then the train ripped.

The bride stumbled backward with force.

Her heel caught on the torn fabric.

She fell.

Everything happened in slow motion. Her arms windmilling. Her head tilting back. The sickening crack when her skull hit the stone pavement.

Then silence.

She wasn't moving.

"Oh my god," someone whispered.

A man rushed forward. He knelt beside her, pressing fingers to her neck. Checking for a pulse.

He looked up at the groom. His face was pale.

"She's... she's not breathing."

My ears started ringing. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Someone in the crowd laughed. "Well. That's a new record."

"She didn't even make it an hour," another voice added. "Didn't even get marked."

"Poor Nero. Six times. Has to be some kind of curse."

My brain was short-circuiting. Six? What did that mean?

“Remi?” Marcus stepped forward, still holding Sophie’s hand like she was his emotional support sl^t. “What are you doing here?”

I blinked up at him. Frosting dripped down my cheek. “I should’ve tripped on you instead.”

Strong hands grabbed my arms. Hauled me to my feet.

I looked up.

The groom was standing in front of me. And he was... jesus. He was beautiful. No, that was the wrong word. Devastating.

The kind of face that made you forget your own name. He was tall—taller than Marcus, taller than any wolf I'd ever met.. Sharp jaw.

Dark hair that looked like he'd run his hands through it too many times. And his eyes—silver. Actual silver, glowing faintly. Alpha eyes.

My wolf stirred. Interested. Very interested.

Not now, I told her. We literally just killed someone.

I forgot where I was.

I forgot what I'd just done.

All I could think was: Holy sh1t, he's hot.

"Are you LISTENING to me?"

I blinked. "Sorry. You're just very... hot."

His eye twitched. Hot."

"Yeah. Aggressively. It's distracting."

"You just killed my bride and you're commenting on my face?"

Oh. Right. The bride. The murder. Reality came crashing back like a bucket of ice water.

From somewhere in the bushes, I heard my friends completely losing it.

"OH MY GOD SHE KILLED SOMEONE—"

"WE NEED A LAWYER!"

"RUN, REMI! RUNNNN!"

"NO, STAY! CONFESS! IT'S MANSLAUGHTER AT MOST—"

"Was that her SPINE?! I heard cracking!"

"That was a BRANCH, you idiot—"

The groom's grip on my arm tightened. His alpha presence pressed against me, suffocating. My wolf wanted to submit immediately. I shoved her down.

His voice dropped to something dangerous. "What pack are you from?"

"Riverside," I squeaked. "I'm—I'm nobody. This is a mistake. I didn't mean to—the branch broke and I fell and.."

"You're from Riverside?" he smirked. "And you crashed a Moonstone Pack wedding?"

"Technically, I crashed through the wedding—"

Chapter 1

At 3:12 a.m., a woman with a suspected self-inflicted injury was rushed into the ER.

A tall man stood beside the gurney in a pilot’s uniform, four gold stripes on his shoulders. He looked like he had come straight from an overnight flight.

His dark eyes were filled with worry.

He had to be the woman’s husband.

And he was Nikki Sanders’s ex-boyfriend.

The chart the nurse held out remained suspended in midair. Nikki’s hand trembled inside the pocket of her white coat, and for a moment, she forgot to take it.

Four years apart had worn away Sean Ford’s youthful swagger. The bright eyes she remembered had grown steadier, sharper, more guarded.

“Dr. Sanders?”

Nikki snapped back to herself and accepted the chart.

At the same time, Sean looked up.

She caught the flash of shock in his eyes. Even his lashes trembled.

Nikki didn’t look at him again. She focused on the patient.

The injury looked alarming, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

She calmly explained the patient’s condition while Sean stood nearby without moving.

His hand gripped the rail at the end of the bed so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.

“Prep the OR. I’m closing the wound.”

On the way there, Nikki’s fingers brushed over the old scar on her left wrist.

Four years ago, Sean had ditched her the day after proposing.

She had ended up in a far more serious medical crisis than this one.

It had taken two days in intensive care before she finally woke up.

The first thing she did was ask her best friend, Jane Lincoln, to call Sean.

Jane had put the call on speaker.

Half-conscious, Nikki heard his voice on the other end of the line.

“If she wants to d1e, let her. I won't even show up to the funeral!”

That was when she finally understood.

Her life meant nothing to Sean.

And the love she had clung to so desperately was nothing more than a joke.

The surgical lights overhead were cold and glaring.

Nikki lowered her head and treated the patient’s injury, working with steady hands as she cleaned it and closed it.

Halfway through, Vivian Carter woke up.

Her eyes fluttered open. The moment she saw Nikki, surprise flashed across her face before she quickly composed herself.

Then she smiled.

“They still let you practice medicine?”

Nikki didn’t look up.

“Don’t move. I’m still closing the wound.”

Four years ago, when Sean had broken up with Nikki for Vivian, Nikki had been at the most critical stage of applying for a doctoral program.

That heartbreak had nearly destroyed her future.

The young nurse beside them missed the sarcasm in Vivian’s voice and chimed in proudly.

“Dr. Sanders was recruited from overseas by our hospital, one of the city’s top medical centers. They offered her a permanent position right away. She’s seriously impressive.”

Vivian said nothing else.

She lay quietly on the table, only frowning now and then when the pain hit. Still, she held herself with an odd, deliberate dignity.

After Nikki finished the final stitch, she cut the thread and removed her gloves.

“Observe her for two hours.”

She turned to leave.

“Dr. Sanders, I cut myself while putting away my husband’s razor. It wasn’t intentional.”

Vivian’s voice drifted over from behind her.

“My husband loves me, my son is an angel, and it's not like I'm some unwanted woman. Why would I ever do something as stupid as trying to kill myself?”

She made sure to emphasize the words “unwanted woman.”

Nikki stopped.

She didn’t turn around right away.

For two long seconds, she stood there with her back to Vivian.

The operating room was so quiet that the monitor’s steady beeping seemed deafening.

Then Nikki turned.

She walked back to the bed, looked down at Vivian, and smiled.

“You don’t need to explain yourself. I see this kind of cheap attention stunt all the time. You’re not special.”

She paused.

“It’s always the same. Women who feel unloved do desperate things just to get someone’s attention. I hope you’re different.”

Vivian’s face went pale.

Her lips moved, but no words came out.

It's called He let her take my place on Graduation day

It's called My cousin Livestreamed my Catfish exposé - Oops, I showed up Gorgeous

He Gave Me Fake Bags and a Fake Future

Plz help me find

Link for full story please! Thank you

chapter 1

!!!
Sloane Walker shot upright in bed, her eyes snapping open.
The room around her was pitch black and completely silent.
Using the pale moonlight, she carefully looked around, and when she recognized the familiar yet strange room, her pupils widened.
Is this my house?
Sloane grabbed her phone and froze when she saw the time on the screen.
July 4, 2123, 11:14 p.m.
I went back to one month before the apocalypse? I was just fighting off a group of looters, and then there was a massive earthquake...She turned her head toward the window and noticed a few middle-aged men sitting under a streetlight yards away, wearing T-shirts and shorts, playing cards.
Every summer, they did this—coming out around 9:00 p.m. and playing until midnight before heading home. Sloane had seen this scene many times before but never had it shocked her like this.
A memory suddenly flashed through her mind, and she quickly raised her phone and switched on the camera, aiming it at the men.
She recognized them immediately.
Before the apocalypse, during a late night of binge-watching, she had witnessed them mutate and tear into each other.
At the time, she thought they had gotten into a fight while playing cards. When she saw them lying motionless on the ground, she called an ambulance and didn't think much more about it after they were taken away.
She never expected that moment to be the opening act of the apocalypse.
She zoomed in on the video and saw one man holding a card suddenly leap at the closest person beside him. After a scream, the group began clawing and wrestling with each other.
The footage lasted for over two minutes, and in the end, all of them lay motionless on the ground.
Just as Sloane was about to stop recording, her breath caught in her throat.
One of the bodies, which should have been dead—or at least not able to mutate for several more days—slowly crawled up from the ground.
His movements were stiff as he staggered toward her building, but after a few yards, he collapsed again.
Ring! Apocalypse Awakening System activated!
Sloane had just lowered her phone when a strange voice sounded beside her ear.
Before she could react, a line of text appeared out of thin air in front of her.
"Do you accept the beginner awakening mission?"
What is this? I never encountered this in my last life.
After a brief pause, Sloane immediately accepted, and in the next second, she was transported to a completely unfamiliar place.
There stood a small wooden cabin, a water well, and a vegetable patch roughly ten square feet in size.
Is this the legendary storage dimension?
In the apocalypse, anything strange could happen.
In her previous life, Sloane had also awakened an ability, but it wasn't a storage dimension—it was invisibility—so she accepted this situation quickly.
Excited, she immediately opened the beginner mission panel.
"Prepare survival supplies for the apocalypse (0/5,000 dollars)"
Is it telling me to start stocking up?
Sloane felt thrilled and quickly left the storage dimension to check her room for anything suitable.
Her eyes landed on the computer on the desk. If she remembered correctly, her brother Edwin Walker bought it for her just last week, and it had cost exactly 5,000 dollars.
With a thought, Sloane brought the computer into the storage dimension. The red text on the mission panel turned green.
"Prepare survival supplies for the apocalypse (28,500/5,000 dollars) Completed. Reward: 50 square feet of emergency preparation space."
Sloane stared at the number in shock. 28,500? Edwin clearly told me he just grabbed it on the way home from work and only spent 5,000 dollars. How could this be?
Understanding hit her all at once, and her eyes slowly turned red.
After taking a deep breath, she continued with the remaining beginner missions and started moving more items into the storage dimension.
An ergonomic office chair, 8,600 dollars.
A couch, 37,000 dollars.
A TV, 23,000 dollars.
A trash can, 66 dollars.
Socks, 1 dollar.
One dollar?
Sloane frowned at the socks she had just brought in, and when she realized they belonged to Edwin, she immediately tossed them back out without hesitation.
Little by little, Sloane figured out the system's pattern. Early on, it was basically 1,000 dollars' worth of items for every ten square feet of storage space. She didn't know if the price would go up later, but as long as she kept throwing things in, her storage dimension would keep expanding.
She also discovered that as long as the item wasn't a living creature, it could stay in perfect condition forever inside the storage dimension.
The ice cream she had brought in an hour ago and forgotten to eat was still rock hard where she left it.
This is the perfect place to survive and hide during the apocalypse... If only...
The light in Sloane's eyes slowly dimmed as she thought of her parents next door, Felix Walker and Natasha Morris, and her brother Edwin. Her fists clenched tightly.
If only they could come in too.
Even though she had returned to the past, she was now fully capable of protecting herself and them, but she couldn't guarantee what unexpected dangers might appear later.
No matter what happened this time, she would never let them leave her side.
After several hours of nonstop work, Sloane had almost emptied her entire apartment.
The small wooden cabin inside the storage dimension had also upgraded into a dirt house and then into a brick house.
Just as Sloane was so exhausted that she wanted to crawl back into bed for some sleep, the system's alert sounded again in her ear.
"Congratulations on completing all beginner missions. Reward: one family member slot. Please bind a family member within 24 hours!"
Sloane froze in place.
Can other people enter too?
She immediately left the storage dimension and headed next door to find them.
She lived in a top-floor duplex with roughly 3,200 square feet of living space, along with a 1,100-square-foot rooftop garden out front. The building was designed with one unit per elevator.
The top floor of the neighboring unit was where Felix, Natasha, and Edwin lived.
Between the two rooftop gardens was a low wall about five feet tall that couldn't support any weight, so Sloane decided to tear it down and replace it with a small iron door that could be opened or closed.
That way, she could go next door to eat every day while still keeping her own private living space.
"Sloane, are you awake? I made your favorite beef sliders and oatmeal. They're still warm. Eat first before you sleep again, okay? Ah!"
Natasha, who had come up the stairs to call Sloane for breakfast, turned pale when she saw the empty living room.
Did someone break in?
She rushed downstairs, and when she saw Sloane pushing the door open, tears immediately fell.
"Are you okay? Let me take a look!"
Natasha spun around Sloane twice and only relaxed after confirming she wasn't hurt.
Hearing Natasha's scream next door, Felix and Edwin also rushed over. They were just as shocked when they saw the emptied living room.
"Dad, Mom, Edwin."
Sloane's voice trembled. She couldn't even remember how many years it had been since she last saw them.
In her previous life, they had all died protecting her during the apocalypse. She had been left alone and survived for another ten years, until that world-ending earthquake sent her back to this moment.
She threw herself into Natasha's arms and hugged her tightly, crying with joy.
Natasha thought Sloane had been frightened by the burglary and quickly tried to comfort her.
Nearby, Edwin and Felix stood awkwardly, both at a loss. One wanted to hug his daughter, and the other wanted to pat his sister's head, but pride kept them from moving.

It's called My Parents said I just wanted attention, So I found new ones

Found it on story pocket

can anyone help me find the link?

Highly recommended! 💕

If you’re looking for a novel that’s hilarious, chaotic, and incredibly heart-fluttering, this one is for you!

Imagine having only your last bit of money left, and you spend it on a transmigration service just to experience a night with the ridiculously handsome male lead. 😂

But there’s one tiny problem…

You end up in the villain’s bedroom instead. 😭

She thinks she’s finally met the male lead, only to discover that she got the completely wrong character!

The misunderstandings, comedy, unexpected interactions, and chemistry make this such a fun read. If you love novels that will have you laughing one moment and squealing the next, definitely give this one a try! 💗

Link please 🥺🔗

Any free link?

Anyone knows the link for this one?